Esthero

Wikkid Lil Girls is light years removed from the sub-Björk-isms that infected Breath from Another, Esthero's 1998 debut. Esthero vocalizes over her backgrounds, which range from jazz and cabaret to pop, soul, and hip-hop, with more confidence and swagger than before. The album is excitingly drenched in sex, with songs such as "If tha Mood," in which she brags, "She won't fuck you like I do." But this LA artist comes off as more than a superfreak; talented enough to wax lyrically on both "Bad Boy Clydes" and "Musical Revolutions" and hold her own with collaborators such as Andre 3000 from Outkast and Cee-Lo, she deserves to be more than just another cult artist.